


Locked Out

by TaiWind



Series: Matchstick Souls [2]
Category: Pokemon GO
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Getting Together, Incredibly Self-Indulgent, Muscle Fondling, Platonic Cuddling, also there's an anime, implied one-sided Candela/Blanche
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-26 22:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7592290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaiWind/pseuds/TaiWind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who else does Spark find on his doorstep at 8 PM than his next-door neighbor and one of his two best friends Candela, soaked to the bone and locked out of her own apartment?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Locked Out

**Author's Note:**

> guess i should put this here so there's no confusion  
> two reasons i wrote this  
> reason 1 is that the only way to get out of rarepair hell is to climb out on a mountain of Content and i will have my content even if i have to provide 50% of it for the ship myself dammit  
> reason 2 is fishing for an audience, that is to say if there's even a market for this ship i'll be more inclined to make more Content, but if not... well i'll probably make it anyway, it's not like anything is stopping me
> 
> oh also nb blanche because i do what i want
> 
> enjoy

The gentle drumming of the rain against the window accompanied the soft sound of footsteps as Spark slowly and carefully went around his apartment, throughout which baskets with eggs were scattered. Each Pokemon egg in its own individual basket, except the three siblings in a single one – those were from the same set of parents. Spark made sure to cover each of his eggs up with one of his hand-knit blankets, and kiss it good night. You may call it silly, and that's because it is. But he enjoyed doing it anyway. Finally finishing his walk around the apartment by covering up the three siblings – each in their own blanket – Spark, smiling, walked into his living room and sat down on the sofa, sighing contentedly after his long day. He reached for the remote, but after holding it in his hand for a few seconds, he decided against turning on his TV, and instead closed his eyes and leaned back into the soft surface of his sofa, listening to the rain intensify.

The nigh-meditational state was sadly interrupted by the ringing of Spark's doorbell, followed by a concerto of frantic knocking on his door. The Instinct leader rose from his sofa and glanced over to one of his three clocks – all of which had just hit eight. After making his way to the door, he looked through the eyehole, only to be met with the warm-brown face and dark hair of Candela, one of his two best friends, neighbors and team leader peers. It had seemed that although she must have heard his footsteps approaching the door, said fact did little to dissuade her from continuing to knock. _What could she want at this hour?_ he thought as he opened the door, flashing his friendly smile. “What's the matter, Candycane?”

“Save it, I'm not in the mood,” came the annoyed response from the girl, who – if the rainwater pooling around Spark's Pikachu-themed doormat, even more of it dripping down from her coat, and the wet hair, which she wiped off of her forehead with a swift hand motion, were any indication – was soaked to the bone, and that didn't seem like the only misfortune she'd been hit with that evening.

“What's wrong?” asked Spark, this time with more concern in his voice and his friendly grin gone, replaced with an equally concerned look.

“Well, if today's hunt being a complete bust, getting a flat tire on my bike, and getting caught in the rain hauling the darn thing back here wasn't enough, I locked myself out. So now I need a place to stay before the locksmith shows up, and-”

“-and calling the locksmith immediately is such a you thing to do,” Spark interrupted, flashing his friendly smile again. “Wait here,” he said and disappeared into the depths of the apartment, off to the side of the door that wasn't accessible to Candela by mere vision. Left to the whims of a whimsical man, she resorted to tapping her foot against the hallway floor, but it wasn't long before the friendly smile returned, along with the rest of Spark, a keyring dangling from his index finger.

“I didn't know you had a spare key for _my_ _door_ ,” the girl said, taken aback by how prepared and reliable a friend Spark was, though she should have been used to it by now.

“You gave it to me all those years ago, in case something like this ever happened. And now it came back to bite you. But, like... in a good way,” the boy stumbled over his own metaphor as he stepped out into the hallway, careful not to dip his slippers into Candela's rain puddle, and made his way to her door, unlocking it for her. Only then did she notice the small baby Moltres keychain attached to the key, and remembered how she gave the key to him back when the three of them – her, Spark and Blanche – all moved into the three apartments on that floor some years back.

“Ta-daa,” Spark said, interrupting Candela's trance as he opened her door, presenting her with the welcoming image of her own appartment – or at least it was welcoming after the day she'd had. The rather aggressive tones of red and brown wouldn't feel this much like home to her on any other evening.

“Thanks, Sparkplug,” Candela said, playfully punching her friend's shoulder. What had previously been an annoyed scowl on her face was now replaced with a friendly grin mirroring his own. “You're the best!”

“Anything for a friend!” Spark chuckled. “Glad to see the Candycane I know and love,” he added, punching her in the shoulder right back, but more carefully. After all, he wouldn't want to hurt his friends. “Well, I better get going now. And you should be more Careful with your keys next time, miss Hasty Nature.”

"My Nature is Adamant," the girl shot back, turning her friendly grin into more of a competitive smirk. "I'll try to be more careful from now on. Just don't tell Blanche."

"Sir, yes ma'am. Wouldn't dream of it." Spark started off back into his own apartment, only to be stopped by a gloved hand tugging on his wrist.

"Why don't you come over for a visit?" Candela asked, and as he turned around, he was met with her eyebrow playfully raised, suggesting who-knows-what kind of shenanigans the girl was planning. "I bet you'd be bored on your own in there, since I'm pretty sure you already tucked in all the eggs." The boy hesitated for a moment, to which Candela responded with the definitive nail in the coffin for Spark's evening by his lonesome. "I've got animes."

"Alright, sure, don't see the harm in it. Let me just turn off my lights."

"And grab your keys."

"And grab my keys, thanks. Nice irony, by the way."

"Thanks. I try."

* * *

Cradling the warm cup of ginseng tea in his hands, Spark leaned back into the sofa and looked around Candela's living room. He hadn't visited the other two members of their trio much, it was usually them coming over to visit him. While vastly different in style, the boy noticed the numerous similarities between his and Candela's way of organizing a living room – except instead of his clocks, hanging potted plants and framed pictures of various Electric types, Candela's walls were decorated with strange aesthetic pictures, save for the one right above his head, a huge oil painting of an Arcanine, or rather someone's interpretation of Arcanine's mega evolution.

Spark took a sip of his tea, then set the cup on the coffee table as Candela entered the room, considerably more dry than before, carrying her own cup of tea and a large bowl of peanuts. Dressed in but a tank top and _criminally_ short shorts that Spark had to force himself not to stare at, she made her way over to him and carefully placed her cup on the coffee table, before plodding down on the sofa next to him (spilling some of the peanuts in the process) and tossing her legs over his.

“Where'd you get this many peanuts?” Spark asked, taking some and tossing them in his mouth.

“Remember how I have those moldy kitchen walls? I convinced the landlord to lower my rent, and now I have extra money that I figured I'd buy a bunch of peanuts with,” Candela responded, grabbing a fistful of them herself. “It's also how I managed to afford that huge Arcanine. But peanuts, man!” She playfully bumped Spark's shoulder with her own, then stuffed her mouth full of peanuts, taking mere seconds to chew them up and swallow.

“So what are we watching?” Spark asked as Candela reached for her remote, switching her TV and DVD player on.

“Chivalry of a Failed Knight,” the girl responded. “I've been waiting to watch this for a while. I was gonna put it on this morning, but then I remembered it's not Sunday.”

“Heh. We should get you a calendar.”

“Do _you_ have a calendar?”

“Well, no, but I don't need a calendar,” Spark said, tossing more peanuts into his mouth. ”I bet Blanche has a calendar.”

“No, Blanche totally has one of those pocket planners. You know, the one that's kinda like a diary but not really.”

“Why not both? It's not like they'd get caught being any _less_ organized.”

“True.”

Spark took another sip of his tea, then glanced down at his friend, noticing something amiss with her tank top. “You're not wearing a bra?!” he yelped out in surprise, his cheeks tinted a shade of red you'd sooner see on a Pokeball than human skin.

“What? It's my own apartment, I can wear or not wear whatever I feel like.”

“Well, I mean... it's just... y'know... unexpected.”

“Besides, you're my best friend, so I know you won't try anything,” she said, giving him another shoulder bump, with a reassuring smile to boot.

“Not while I know how crazy you are for Blanche I'm not,” said Spark, flashing a playful smirk that she could swear he copied from her, down to the smallest detail. Now it was her turn to blush.

“How'd- The nerve of- No I'm not!” Candela turned away, her face deep red.

“Sure, whatever you say.” He tossed his arm casually over her shoulder.

“Besides, even if I was – which I'm not! - there's no way it'd work out.”

 _She's so adorable when her tsundere is showing,_ Spark thought, though he wouldn't dare say it out loud. “What makes you say that? You'll never know unless you try.”

“Well,” Candela turned back around to face Spark, her face less red than before, but still noticeably blushing. “Remember back when we lived together, all three of us? I used to drive them up the freaking wall.”

“What, c'mon,” Spark said, reassuringly gripping her shoulder, and as she looked up at him, she was met with the friendliest grin she'd ever seen on his face. “You and I both know that was a two-man operation.”

Candela couldn't help but chuckle. “Yeah, you're right. Those were the good old days...” She sighed wistfully, eyes trailing off into the distance, and leaned against Spark's shoulder. “We used to be unstoppable back then, I don't know how Blanche even dealt with us.”

“Well, usually by trailing off into incomprehensible angry French,” Spark said, about to lean away to take another sip of tea, but stopped by Candela's hand on his shoulder and a barely audible whisper of 'don't move.'

“And you had your incomprehensible angry Spanish,” he continued. “I've always wanted to learn more languages.”

“Hey, that's something I've always wondered. Do you have an incomprehensible angry language?”

“I- no, I don't get angry... okay, sometimes. Not around other people.”

“Sparkplug, c'mon. Answer the question,” she said, gently headbutting the side of his head with the top of hers.

“Okay. It's... it's German, I swear in German.”

“Dude, that's so awesome!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it's such a you thing to do,” she grinned up at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

Between the engaging anime and the engaging conversation, Spark didn't even notice that Candela had somehow snuck her arm behind his back and to the other side of him. That is, until she pinched his side without any warning. The startled boy nearly jumped out of his seat, and he raised his arms up in defense and confusion.

“Candela, what the heck!?” He glanced over to the girl, who was losing herself laughing. She had a deep laugh, so completely not feminine, more like something you'd expect out of a female villain when everything is going according to plan, except not evil.

“Sorry, sorry,” she managed to get out inbetween laughs, “I just wanted to hear you swear at me in German, that's all!”

“Well you could have just asked,” Spark said, placing his arm back over her shoulder. “I could probably give you a voice recording of some German swears, if you really want.”

“Nah, that'd be too weird.”

“Bottom line, don't pinch me in the man-muscle.”

Candela nearly lost it again. “Your man-muscle? Isn't that what you call the thing in your pants?”

“No, that's man-meat.“

“Man-meat,” she repeated, looking up at him as if to say 'are you freaking serious?' “Why do you need to add the man to it anyway? Isn't it just muscle? What, is your leg actually your man-leg too?”

“No, that's just leg. Man-leg sounds pretty weird. Besides, it's not like you don't have more girl-muscle than I have man-muscle, so it's not exactly a seal of quality or quantity anyway, y'know?”

“Can't argue with that. I could probably bench you,” said Candela, a statement which was met with a nod from Spark. “What kind of muscle does Blanche have?”

“Does... Does Blanche even have muscles? Do nerds have muscles?”

“Why don't you ask someone from your team? It's full of nerds.”

“Oh, shush, you,” said Spark, ending the discussion of Blanche and their nerd-muscles. The duo turned their attention back to the TV screen, where they were met with the rather ironic picture of a girl touching and feeling her male roommate's musculature.

“Now I want to feel some man-muscles too,” Candela said with a cheeky grin, and Spark was startled once again by her mischievous hand, this time riding up his shirt.

“Candy-c-c-come on, that tickles,” he barely let out through his startled laugh, but she didn't stop.

“Dude, let me feel your man-muscle!”

With every ounce of effort, Spark stopped laughing, and adopted a serious look. Well, a jokingly serious look. “Okay, fine,” he responded. “But we're going to do it like in the anime!”

With Spark tossing his legs up onto the sofa and pulling her hands onto his stomach (spilling what was left of the bowl of peanuts, but who cares), Candela suddenly found herself in a mirror image of the scene from the anime, straddling Spark, whose serious face had disappeared in favor of that cheerful grin she'd grown to enjoy. At that moment, it was as if something had grasped her heart, and she had to turn away blushing, expecting him to do the same. But when she turned back, hands still on his barely-formed abs, she found him looking up at her intently, not grinning like an idiot, but smiling warmly. Part of her wanted to turn away blushing again, but another part, a stronger part, smiled back at him, blush be damned. And he kept smiling, and blushed too, but it was a soft and warm blush, looking right at home dancing across his cheeks. They stayed like that for a while in complete silence, just enjoying the moment. Then he spoke up.

“Is this a good time to say that I'm in love with you?”

* * *

It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. Neither of them knew or cared about how long the awkward silence had lasted after Spark's abrupt love confession. Not even the sudden power outage cutting off their light and TV fazed them at all, though it left them in the shroud of the dark to listen to the rain slowly get even worse.

Candela's mind and heart were both racing, the warm, loving smile of Spark's etched in her mind as the last thing she saw before the room went dark. As much as she tried to organize her thoughts into something coherent, only one thought emerged above all the confusing emotions swirling around inside her head - utter flabbergasted shock.

"H-how long ago was this?" she finally asked, her voice almost drowned out by a sudden crashing of thunder.

"A few months now, I think."

Spark had always trusted his gut on any major decision, which usually turned out for the best through his uncanny luck, and though he was hoping that this time would be no exception, actually confessing his feelings to the girl was his top priority over any actual romantic outcome. Even though the room was completely dark, he didn't stop smiling, as he could think of no reason to stop. His mind was a whirlwind just like hers, with only one thought coming out on top too - the relief that he didn't pass up his now-or-never chance at getting this weight off his shoulders.

"Spark, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

"I _do_ _want to_ , I just don't know what."

A feeling he was all too familiar with. Spark propped himself up on his elbows, and as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, looked at the barely visible silhouette of Candela, her eyes desperately trying to avoid eye contact, even in the dark.

"When I don't know what to say, I just say the first thing that comes to mind," he said, giving the girl an encouraging look. "You should try that."

"I- I just really don't know though," came Candela's reply as she slumped down onto Spark, resting her head on his chest. The boy slowly and carefully laid back on the sofa, then wrapped his hands around her in a soft friendly embrace.

"Well, what's the first thing you want to do right now?"

She thought about it for less than a fraction of a second.

"Kick your ass for not telling me sooner."

A chuckle escaped Spark's lips, and he tightened his hug a little, appreciating the attempt to lift the mood. Only then did Candela notice that his heart was beating just as intensely as hers, maybe even more. Maybe...

"See, the thing is," she started, "I don't know how I feel about you. You're a great friend, and you're always there for me, and you... you bring out a side of me that I sometimes forget I have." Catching her voice getting softer with every word, she smiled, and he returned her smile, though he hadn't really stopped smiling the entire time anyway. "I don't know if that's enough to build a relationship on, though. I mean I love you, a-as a friend, but I've never wanted more, you know?"

"What are your instincts saying?" asked Spark, and she felt his fingers running through her hair. Though mildly startled, she found comfort in this, a kind she'd never experienced before.

"They're saying I should kick your ass for that pun," she responded, and Spark chuckled again, not even minding that she'd repeated the same kind of joke twice. "But..."

"Hmm?"

"They're also saying I should give it a chance. I don't know if it's going to work out, but-"

"-but we'll never know unless we try," Spark finished for her, and hugged her tighter, to which she responded by burying her face in his chest. "Does that mean it's official?"

"Sure," Candela responded, barely audible. "I don't see the harm in it."

It took Spark a while to realize that those were the last words out of her lips before she fell asleep, and he took no time dozing off as well, still smiling, the happiest man in the world at that very moment. There was no rain outside, not anymore, nor were there any worries in his mind.

* * *

It had been barely an hour before he woke back up, the first thing he noticed was that the two of them had changed positions. Now they were both laying on their side, with Candela in front, her arm over his, which was wrapped loosely around her waist. She woke up soon after and tried to escape his grasp, only to be pulled back to him and get the top of her head kissed.

"What's the rush?" he asked softly, admiring her half-hearted struggle to get out.

"There's someone at the door, dummy!" she responded, resulting in him letting her go, only for her to fall down on the floor, nearly hitting her head on the coffee table. Spark rolled over to his back and propped himself up on his elbows again, watching the girl pick herself up.

"You didn't call off the locksmith, did you?" he asked. The realization dawned on Candela that no, she did not actually call off the locksmith, and she jumped onto her feet, storming off while cursing herself out in angry Spanish. Only now did Spark realize that the reason he could see what was going on again was that the power had come back on, and, no longer caught up in the moment, he also noticed the ringing of the doorbell.

He stayed in his somewhat uncomfortable position for a while, thinking about all that had transpired that evening, everything still vivid in his memory. The spare key, the peanuts, the memories, the 'man-muscle'... the power outage, his confession, and the rather awkward talk resulting from it. And his new girlfriend to show for it.

 

 _My girlfriend Candela_ , he smiled to himself. _It's got a nice ring to it._

**Author's Note:**

> oh and reason 3 is that they're SO FUCKING CUTE TOGETHER. im gonna die. and im the one who wrote this
> 
> feedback is greatly appreciated


End file.
